Walter Scott Calwell Sr., 92, lawyer

Walter Scott Calwell Sr., a retired lawyer and descendant of signers of the Bush Declaration, died Thursday of pneumonia at St. Joseph Hospital. He was 92.

A partner in the law firm of Callahan, Calwell and Laudeman, which represented Baltimore Federal Savings and Loan Association for many years, Mr. Calwell retired in 1973. He continued to be counsel for the firm until 1984.

"Mr. Calwell was active in the legal profession in Baltimore for almost 60 years and was considered an outstanding expert in the field of real estate law by the legal fraternity," said Morris Mackey, a former law partner.

"Even after his retirement, the remaining partners and attorneys often sought his advice on complex matters such as land titles," Mr. Mackey said.

Mr. Calwell, who grew up in the Bolton Hill area of Baltimore and was educated at the Marston School, was a 1926 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law.

Mr. Calwell's forebears settled in Harford County in the 1690s. Two of his ancestors, Samuel Calwell and Daniel Scott, signers of the Bush Declaration, were officers in the Revolutionary War. The declaration, issued in March 1775 by members of the Bush River committee, urged independence.

He was the son of James Sloan Calwell, a prominent Baltimore lawyer, and Amanda Morris Scott. His great-grandfather, Otho Scott, a distinguished Maryland lawyer and leading member of the Harford County bar, codified the Laws of Maryland in 1860.

Mr. Calwell was a longtime resident of the city's Homeland neighborhood and maintained a summer home for more than 40 years in Cape May, N.J.

He was a member of the University of Maryland Terrapin Club, the University Club of Baltimore and the Cottages Association of Cape May.

"He loved Cape May, sitting on the front porch and reading the sports section," said his son James C. Calwell Sr. of Baltimore.

"And as a member of the Terrapin Club, he rarely missed a Maryland football game," Mr. Calwell said. "He always enjoyed watching the Terrapins. The entire family would go along, and we would have a tailgate party."

Mr. Calwell was an avid reader, with an interest in the Old Bay Line, a fleet of ships that took passengers from Baltimore to ports along the Chesapeake Bay.

In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife, the former Catherine Jane McCormick; two other sons, Walter S. Calwell Jr. of Towson and Edward S. Calwell of Westminster; and eight grandchildren. His first wife, Helen Wernsing Calwell, died in 1970.

Services were to be held at 11 a.m. today at the Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home, 6500 York Road. Interment will be at Loudon Park Cemetery.

The family suggested memorial contributions to St. Joseph Hospital, 7620 York Road, Towson 21204.